Stretching Your Elements

I’m always looking for ways to squeeze every last bit of creativity from my scrapbooking tools, and digital elements are no different. Using a digital element multiple times on a layout does more than make me feel like a thrifty scrapper, though; it also reinforces a number of design principles.

I always try to put an element to use three times on a layout, which helps me to create a visual triangle; this helps to direct the viewer’s eye across my layout and frames my central point of visual interest. Changing the size, color, and texture of the element provides variety, while the repetition creates subtle pattern and unity.

For this layout featuring my niece’s 1st birthday, I decided to see how many different ways I could use Karla Dudley’s Jumbo No. Cards. (Other credits: kraft cardstock from Neutral Stock by Audrey Neal; Fun Day elements, Everyday papers, Let’s Go papers and elements, all from Robyn Meierotto; Pacifico font)

My first use of the Jumbo Numbers element was to create a repetitive background on the kraft paper. To do this, I simply resized the number 1 and created rows. Once I merged all the individual rows together, I changed the blend mode in my Layers palette to Overlay and adjusted the Opacity to 70%. Then I merged the layer with my background paper.

My second use of the Jumbo Numbers element was to use it as a clipping mask. I covered the template with the grid paper from Robyn’s Everyday paper pack, then placed the #1 brush on top of it. I filled the brush with paint using the Fill (bucket) tool first, to remove the decreased opacity. Then I placed the diagonal stripe paper from Robyn’s Everyday paper pack on top of the brush and “clipped” it (CtrlG, CtrlE) to the brush. I finished things up by adding a slight drop shadow.

My final use was as more of a brush element. Again, I used the fill (bucket) tool to make the brush less opaque, filling it with a couple of different colors. For a little extra impact, I added key words (with the background graph paper clipped to them) on top of the brushes.

As you can see, putting an element to more than one use on your layout can add variety and interest to even the simplest designs.

Color Watch: Tangerine Tango

Did you know that every year Pantone – THE color authority – releases their “Color of the Year” prediction? It’s the color they believe will most heavily influence many things in the design industry from fashion to home interiors, and scrapbooking is no exception. Sometimes the color saturates the market, like 2010′s Turquoise, which is still going strong. Sometimes it’s less prevalent, but still visible, like 2011′s Honeysuckle, a personal favorite.

The color they think will be big this year is Tangerine Tango, which they describe as a spirited reddish orange.

I love this color, but I’ll admit that orange is a tricky color to work with, and probably not one of the first ones you reach for when you’re scrapbooking! I’d love to show you some great color schemes to get your ideas flowing.

One thing you might notice… I’ve put an awful lot of blue in these. There’s a reason for that: If you think back to your art class, orange and blue are complementary colors on the color wheel, meaning they are across from each other. With a bold color like Tangerine Tango, blue (being its opposite) is the best way to bring it out that gorgeous hue.

Ready to jump in? Feel more like dipping your toe? Check out these great kits available here at Design House Digital, perfect for adding in this fun and trendy color.

• A Life Recorded by Audrey Neal and Karla Dudley (grid in top graphic)
• Rocketman by Deena Rutter
• Scarborough Fair Open Air by Deena Rutter (floral in top graphic)
• Ever After by Gennifer Bursett (stripe in top graphic)
• Sunny Days by Karen Funk
• Kraft – Brightsv1 by Robyn Meierotto
• Sunlight’s Delight by Tiffany Tillman (distressed solid in top graphic)

Do you see yourself using Tangerine Tango? Will you wear it? Decorate with it? Stay far away from it? I’d love to know what you think about Pantone’s choice, and what you would pick for 2012′s color of the year.

Behind the Scenes of a Digital Scrapbook Layout

Psst. I’ve got a secret. My layouts never “are” what they appear to be. I use smoke and mirrors to levitate my scrapbook pages off the ground. I pull a dove out of my top hat, frequently.

What I’m trying to say is I’m a master at making impossible situations possible on my layouts. And today I’m taking you behind the scenes of two my layouts. So you can see the magic too!

I’m fond of my Souvies layout’s color and design. But I chuckle each time I share the page because you’d never guess that sitting behind the barrage of photos is a very cut-up photo frame.

I duplicated and butchered that frame into a million pieces just so the textured edges would peek out from behind the photo grouping. Not so much magic as is “I’m going to fit this square peg into the round hole or else.” When I want an embellishment on my page, I’m going to do whatever it takes to make it happen.

Here’s another example.

Again, smoke and mirrors. Smoke and mirrors! Would you have guessed that sitting under my photo grouping were three journaling blocks plus a multi-photo frame? Maybe not, maybe so. But the point is to look at your elements as more than just a single object. Explore the edges, the center, the bottom and the top. Chances are you can make use of your elements in unusual ways. You just might need to think outside of the box. Or cut them up … literally!

School of Design – Design Theory 4

Welcome back to the final design theory lesson. So far, we’ve learned that good design communicates and steers the eye around the page. Focal points, an established hierarchy, and varying degrees of emphasis all help to share the most important page parts. Now I have one more tried & true practice for leading the eye around the page. It’s super easy!

My all-time favorite trick for moving the eyes around a layout in the order I determine is by use of color and flow. In the page below, I used a red accent — as seen at top left, right side, and repeated in the photo — to help the eye travel through the most important parts of the piece. Then I reinforced the movement with the secondary yellow accent in the title at top, then again on the right, and finally at the page bottom.

Doubling up on the colors to reinforce the design creates a flow of movement from top to bottom and left to right. It’s a great way to take advantage of reading gravity subliminally! How cool is that? This is what I call “stacking the flow”. And it’s great way to use color to influence your design.

So let’s sum up:

• A page plan helps you begin the process of page creation. Planning the focus of your page helps steer you to a more thought-out design before you add colors, papers, and elements.
• Sketching helps you plan. I prefer using paper and pencil before opening the photo-editor because my decisions become purely creative rather than based on the analytical restrictions of the software. But relying on your photo-editor to create a design, sans photos and scrapbook products, works too.
• Once your plan is born, communicate your focus more efficiently. One way to communicate a focus is to establish a visual entry point, or focal point, and position it according to Gutenberg’s reading gravity.
• Reading gravity is cool but focal points work best when the design communicates varying levels of importance. We call this a Visual Hierarchy, which tells the eye specifically where to go and in what order. Using this method allows your focal point to stand out, regardless of its location on the page, because other areas attract less attention.
• Another way to lead the eyes around the page is by use of color and flow.
• And finally, good page design communicates and tells the viewer where to look.

With our design theory lessons complete, what methods do you use to communicate your visual message? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Looking for more design theory education? Join me in the Scraphic Design online workshop for digital scrapbookers at reneepearson.com. Class begins this upcoming Monday.

School of Design – Design Theory 3

Last week we learned good design communicates and tells the eye what to look first. Where the eye looks first is the primary visual element, also known as the focal point. We also learned about reading gravity or moving the eyes from left to right and top to bottom on a page design. But if everyone used reading gravity, our pages would look very similar. There’s got to be better ways right? Of course! Today we’ll improve upon our knowledge and really get down and dirty with page design.

So here’s the deal. On a scrapbook page, it simply does not matter what you choose as your primary visual element. Let me say that again: on a scrapbook page it simply does not matter WHAT you choose as your focal point. Or even where! Doesn’t matter. Why? Because you can emphasize anything — anywhere if you truly want to! You can have the photos stand out, or the title, or colors, or journaling. You can emphasize any of those anywhere on your page! It’s up to you.

What DOES matter is not what you choose or where but how! How will you make “whatever you choose” stand out from everything else?

One definitive way is by levels of hierarchy. A visual hierarchy is a type of pecking order where some part of the design is made more dominant than others. Subconsciously, we separate these areas of importance into three levels: dominate, sub-dominate, and subordinate.

The first level, termed the Dominant level, is the highest in the hierarchy. It’s reserved for the object or area given the most visual weight, therefore, the element of primary emphasis. Viewers tend to see the Dominant level as the entry-point, better known as the focal point. Either way, it’s the most important level because the Dominant level chooses the starting point for the viewer. That’s the point where your eyes look first! This is similar to what we learned last week but let’s push further.

After that comes the sub-dominate level and it’s the areas of secondary emphasis. The last level is the subordinate level consisting of areas and objects with the least important visual material.

How does this design info relate to a scrapbook page? Here’s the key: Always concentrate on developing the top level and the bottom, the Dominate and Subordinate levels, on your page. We can easily distinguish most from least. So your most important decisions rely on how you create a contrast between the focal area and the least important part of your page.

Take the example below, I decided that the large flourish be the dominant focal point of the page. However, I also created a rather large and bold title which took the emphasis away from the swirl. How could I make the swirl stand out more and the title less so a hierarchy existed?

By reducing the visual impact of the title. Take a look at the next example.

I chose to rework the title and use a font with less visual prominence. Doing so has elevated my focal point and created an obvious difference between what is dominant and what is not. Now your eyes are moved around the page in the order I have determined. My design is communicating to you and leading you on a journey around my page according to a hierarchy.

So let’s sum up:

• A page plan helps you begin the process of page creation. Planning the focus of your page helps steer you to a more thought-out design before you add colors, papers, and elements.
• Sketching helps you plan. I prefer using paper and pencil before opening the photo-editor because my decisions become purely creative rather than based on the analytical restrictions of the software. But relying on your photo-editor to create a design, sans photos and scrapbook products, works too.
• Once your plan is born, communicate your focus more efficiently. One way to communicate a focus is to establish a visual entry point, or focal point, and position it according to Gutenberg’s reading gravity.
• Reading gravity is cool but focal points work best when the design communicates varying levels of importance. We call this a Visual Hierarchy, which tells the eye specifically where to go and in what order. Using this method allows your focal point to stand out, regardless of its location on the page, because other areas attract less attention.

Next week, we’ll wrap up our discussion on design theory.